“Nothing really prepares
you for what happened Sunday; the horror of over twenty horses dropping at our
biggest polo tournament of the year. Young athletes cut down in their prime.. It
is our Black Sunday or 9/11 in polo. There are lots of rumors running around
which doesn’t really change the end result. Lots of horsemen who happened to be
there scrambled over to help but there was nothing they could do. One witness
told me it looked like there were twenty people around each horse trying to do
something, anything.
“People who work behi nd the scenes in polo learn to
work fast. We pride ourselves on it. Horses are tacked up, stripped, and washed
in minutes. At the U.S. Open Sunday, and at any Florida function all winter,
there are people from all over the world in the polo community. For over an
hour, South Afr icans, Argentines, French, Americans, Canadians, Mexicans,
Brazilians, Costa Ricans, Cubans, and several other countries, worked shoulder
to shoulder with the best20horse vets in the world to save lives. They were
scrambling as one, at a moment’s notice. I can tell you no one could have worked
faster in any sport, equestrian or human, and for that I am extremely proud to
be part of it. The polo team, Isla Carol mounted a substitute team in little
over an hour. I’m not sure people realize what went into that.
“Grooms,
sponsors, vets, players, photographers and spectators are all bonded by a
passion for horses. It’s who we are as a community. The last time we were
brought together was the herpes virus scare a few years back. I sat in a room
and looked at pros, blacksmiths, grooms, vets, owners and fans of polo that
pulled together for the love of our horses and I think it was probably the first
time I truly thought about being part of a community. I was proud then and I am
proud now.
“In Plains Indian society, less than two hundred years ago, it
was believed that when a man dies, his horse would accompany him in the next
life. That’s how much=2 0horses were deeply involved in their life, and in a way
they are that much a part of our lives in polo. I can tell you every polo
player, g room, owner, trainer and fan of the game fells the pain right now. We
are deeply hurt and saddened as a people over the loss of our horses. To Lechuza
we send our condolences.
